gender neutral pronouns Flashcards
paragraph plans:
- sweden + shakespeare
- LGBTQ stats
- ze and hir
- they
intro:
Living in the modern world of ‘they’,’them’,’ze’ and ’hir’ seems an impossible task as new gender-neutral terms and rules are becoming the norm in a somewhat outdated generation.
Why do we have to make it so hard for ourselves? It’s about time we scrap the hundreds of artificial words being forced into our vocabulary and come up with one final, universal gender-neutral pronoun, shouldn’t be too hard - should it?
sweden model paragraph:
If Sweden can do it, why can’t we? The potential advantages of using gender-neutral pronouns are best illustrated by Sweden. The gender-neutral pronoun hen (them singular) was added to the dictionary in 2015, in place of the gender-specific pronouns han (he) and hon (she). According to current data, the Swedish concept of “hen” has already altered Swedish culture. In newspapers, official documents, judicial decisions, and literature, it is simply a common phrase.
It’s not as if the English language is immune to change, Shakespeare managed to create the gender-neutral pronouns ‘thee’ and ’thou’ which were accepted by society. Therefore the only remaining issue is what these genderless pronouns should be.
LGBTQ model paragraph:
The LGBTQ community and activists have pushed for more inclusive language in recent years, both by inventing brand-new non-binary terms and by reworking pre-existing vocabulary. It’s not always simple. Step into their shoes and think how challenging, frightening, or just tiring it is for some people to continuously have to explain why they require more inclusive language. Just because ‘he’ and ‘she’ may work for you, it doesn’t for them, in fact it simply invalidates their identity, as non-binary people purely don’t fit into these stereotypical pronouns we’ve selfishly created.
Studies show that millennials are more than twice as likely to identify as LGBTQ, that’s 20% higher than previous generations!!! Yet this is still a problem? It doesn’t have to be something crazy that completely changes the English language, all they are asking for is one new word out of the estimated 171,146 words currently in use in the English language. It didn’t take long for our generation to comfortably get used to modern slang in the dictionary such as “Lol’, so I highly doubt we are incapable of adjusting to these language changes
ze and hir model paragraph:
Ze and hir are two of the most well-known gender-neutral pronouns that the non-binary community has proposed. They were developed from the earlier ‘sie’ and ‘hir,’ which were deemed excessively feminine because ‘sie’ is German for ‘she’, and ‘hir’ was formerly a feminine pronoun. However, there are still problems to be faced with these new pronouns that people aren’t happy with, for example, although ‘hir’ is supposed to be pronounced “here,” it is often read as “her” by many people who may be unfamiliar with the term.
The struggle for a simple gender-neutral pronoun is ongoing, yet the limiting possibilities of “he” and “she” are no longer acceptable as LQBTQ groups are fighting for more social acceptance. Hence, another reason why it is so ridiculously important for the English language to have a new gender-neutral pronoun!
‘they’ model paragraph:
The word “they” is increasingly being used in everyday speech not just as a plural but also as a stand-in for the exclusive “he or she.” There are many sentences that use “them” or “they” as the single, neutral pronoun, which often may not even cross our minds. Here’s an example, “Becky already left but they forgot their bag”, although it may feel unfamiliar to some, the gender-neutral pronoun “them”, “they’, and “their’ is already ingrained in our vocabulary and is gradually replacing the common pronoun.
However, naturally people can’t deal with the confusion of ‘they’ becoming both singular and plural. I guess people fear change. Did you know that the word ‘you’ used to only be plural? In today’s modern English, a group and an individual can be referred to as ‘you’ because the word ‘you’ is genderless and can be used both singularly and plurally. However, if it is so ridiculously difficult to wrap your head around ‘they’ being a neutral pronoun, then it’s about time to create a new gender neutral pronoun that everyone can agree on, it not only increases inclusivity in language, but also helps eliminate gender bias in the English language as a whole!
As language guru David Crystal says; “The only languages which do not change are dead ones’, the English language is perfectly capable of change, so why can’t you be?
